Arsenal 2-0 Montpellier: Wilshere helps send Gunners through

 
Jack Wilshere, right, celebrates his goal with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
EPA
Glenn Moore21 November 2012

The longer Jack Wilshere was away the more his reputation grew. By the time the young Englishman returned last month it was a surprise his No 10 shirt did not have SAVIOUR stencilled on the back of it. His dismissal at Old Trafford as Arsenal slumped to defeat underlined how overblown much of the hype was but, last night, Wilshere confirmed that there is substance to his billing.

His tackling may still reflect an inevitable rustiness in its timing but the way he read Olivier Giroud’s knock-down, and the deft manner in which he converted the opportunity, underlined Wilshere’s quality. It was his first goal for almost two years and his joy was evident.

Wilshere’s 49th-minute goal broke Montpellier’s resistance just as it was threatening to derail Arsenal’s customary progress to the last 16 of the Champions League. Buoyed by his strike, Arsenal sealed victory with a superbly taken second from Lukas Podolski. That, together with Schalke’s defeat of Olympiakos in Germany, means Arsenal qualify with a game in hand, changing the status of their 4 December tie in Greece from worrisome to relaxing.

Victory in Piraeus could still be helpful as it might enable Arsenal to come first in the group and thereby avoid the risk of running into Barcelona in the first knockout round again, but as Schalke would also have to lose in France the same night that seems unlikely. Thus Wilshere will only be travelling next month if Arsène Wenger believes he needs more time in the middle.

Sometimes a team takes the momentum gained from a coruscating win in a big match into the next game, beginning as they left off, ripping into the opposition with brio and confidence. At other times the physical effort and emotional toll of the first game results in a flat performance in the second. This was one of the latter times. Arsenal left the Emirates on a high on Saturday after coming from behind to beat Tottenham 5-2, but last night they suffered cold turkey. There were thousands of empty seats at kick-off and while most slowly filled, the stadium remained quiet. Montpellier, a largely unknown team struggling in Ligue 1, brought no aura with them. Arsenal would have to inspire their fans, not the other way around.

But Arsenal began slowly, frequently conceding possession and moving the ball ponderously. With the resurgent Theo Walcott ruled out with the shoulder injury incurred at the weekend (a worry given his previous fragility in that area) the Gunners lacked penetration. Montpellier, their European adventure all but dead, were content to sit back and wait for the chance to counter-attack.

Arsenal should have eased any nerves early on when Laurent Koscielny escaped his marker to break on to a Thomas Vermaelen cross but headed against the bar when he ought to have scored. In the aftermath, Per Mertesacker dribbled into the box like Lionel Messi, before falling under a (legal) challenge like a giant redwood.

Two minutes later, in the goalkeeper’s only significant action of the half, Wojciech Szczesny sprinted quickly from his goal to dive at the feet of Anthony Mounier after the winger had got behind Bacary Sagna. Thereafter the game became a midfield stalemate until Koscielny stepped out from defence to make the extra man after the half-hour, doing so successfully enough to create a chance from which Podolski should at least have tested Geoffrey Jourdren. Four minutes later, the German had another opening created by Santi Cazorla, but again shot wide.

The breakthrough came early in the second half with a goal more from the playbook of Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis than Wenger. Vermaelen worked space on the left, his cross was expertly nodded down by Giroud, and Wilshere reacted first to dink the ball over Jourdren. It could have been John Radford and Charlie George of long ago.

Arsenal were not home and hosed yet as Rémy Cabella illustrated when he was given the freedom to shoot from 20 yards. Fortunately his effort was directed straight at Szczesny. Three minutes after the hour, however, the home fans could start thinking about what time they should leave to beat the Underground queue. Podolski passed inside to Giroud then span off his man, the French centre-forward chipped an exquisite return pass which Podolski lashed into the roof of the net. Both the pass and the finish were reminiscent of that Dutchman now playing at Old Trafford.

Cazorla brought a flying save from Jourdran soon after, but from then on both teams seemed to settle for 2-0. Gervinho was given his first outing since 27 October off the bench and Giroud departed to rather warmer applause than Arsenal’s last conventional centre-forward enjoyed when heading for an early bath on Saturday. By then Arsenal were coasting, saving energy for a busy week in which they visit Aston Villa and Everton aiming to improve their chances of qualifying for next year’s Champions League.

* Shakhtar Donetsk’s Luiz Adriano has been charged by Uefa for disrespecting opponents Nordsjaelland by scoring an uncontested goal after a drop ball. Uefa opened a disciplinary case against the forward for “violation of the principles of conduct” in Tuesday’s Champions League match in Denmark. The case will be judged next Tuesday.

Man of match Cazorla.

Match rating 6/10.

Referee F Aydinus (Tur).

Attendance 59,760.

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